


Homecoming

by thyrza



Category: Doctor Who (2005), Torchwood
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-09
Updated: 2012-04-09
Packaged: 2017-11-03 07:49:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/379046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thyrza/pseuds/thyrza
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>At the end of a horrible year, Jack Harkness returns to its beginning.  (An alternate follow-up for Doctor Who S3/Torchwood S1.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Homecoming

**Author's Note:**

  * For [exfatalist](https://archiveofourown.org/users/exfatalist/gifts).



At the end of a horrible year, Jack Harkness returns to its beginning.  He opens the door of the TARDIS and looks outside, blinking quickly against the sunlight and the tears that suddenly spring to his eyes.

"I've never really spent any time in Cardiff," Martha remarks, taking Jack's hand as they step from the Doctor's ship.  She's done that a lot in the time following their ordeal on the  _Valiant_.

"It's a great place," Jack replies, turning to her.  "You should come visit."

Martha glances over her shoulder to the Doctor, who hangs back sullenly, leaning against the TARDIS, apparently too wrapped up in his own misery for goodbyes.

So be it, Jack decides.  A century of waiting and all it took were a few minutes with the Time Lord to make Jack realize that he never should have left.

"You know, I think I will," Martha answers, smiling.  "Jack, if one good thing came from all this, it was meeting you."

"Likewise," Jack agrees, wrapping the young woman up in a hug.  "Don't be a stranger, Martha Jones."

Martha sets off for the TARDIS, but stops before getting on board, to offer Jack a little wave.  Jack returns the wave, then salutes the Doctor in silence.  The Doctor nods in response and follows Martha through the police box's doors.

Jack waits until the TARDIS dematerializes from the Plass, then he sets off walking away from the Millennium Centre, down past the Pierhead Building.  A few American tourists are riding the carousel, laughing loudly among themselves, or  at themselves, because it's a bit too cold to be riding at this time of year.

The breeze coming off the water is chilly, and Jack pauses to enjoy the sights and smells, to look at the ducks bobbing in the water below.  The tourist information facade lays to his right; Ianto is probably waiting through the door right now, soon to be harassed when the women from the carousel go looking for brochures.  Jack imagines that they'll flirt with Ianto; maybe Ianto will even flirt back.

The captain smiles to himself, but turns to the left, instead.  When he reaches the Norwegian church, he steps behind the building and flips open the cover on his wristband.  It seems surreal to Jack that the vortex manipulator should work again; it's old tech, even if it's thousands of years more advanced than anything else currently on Earth.

Jack can't believe the Doctor didn't take it upon himself to disable it again.  Carelessness seems unlikely, and an apology even less so, and in the end, Jack decides not to question good fortune any further.  Several months in the past, his life is waiting for him.

 

\--

 

Inside Jack's office, after everyone else has gone home, Ianto Jones tidies up the desk and forces himself to consider the idea that the captain is gone again.  Not dead this time, or  _taken_ , as Gwen said, but that Jack  _left_.  Perhaps they deserved it, for their mutiny, but Jack forgave them, didn't he?

Ianto sits down in Jack's chair after a while, and reviews the security footage he has already seen: Jack, running for the blue police box, just moments before they returned to find him gone.  He watches it on a loop until he dozes off, chin sinking down to rest against his chest.

A warm hand lands on Ianto's shoulder some time later and causes the young man to start awake, his heart leaping into his throat.

"Jack?" Ianto wonders sleepily.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."  Jack leans past Ianto and nods to the cup of coffee sitting in the middle of the desk blotter, the paper one from earlier.  "Is that for me?"

"It's gone cold."  Ianto looks at Jack, and something in the captain's expression silences all his questions; they can wait for later.  "Let me make you a new one."

"Thank you," Jack replies, turning to kiss Ianto's cheek.  "I only meant to step out for a second."

 

 


End file.
